![]() There are over 40 tracks in the game, and there will certainly be more that are added. Staying in the Draft zone gives the user a temporary speed boost, but staying too close and bumping into them can cause karts to slow down. Finally, there is also the art of Drafting, which is when racers are directly in the slip stream of karts in front of them. The number of times that this has been successfully pulled off during the review process, where it felt like it had been an advantage, is at a minimum, and in some cases, it might had been better to not drift at all (there is an exception to this mentioned later in the review). ![]() This certainly isn't a technique that younger gamers are going to master in a hurry and it can feel a little alien for those coming from other mascot racers. Players can also master turning into the drift, counter-balancing the drift and then re-accelerating to get a tiny boost on top. ![]() The X button begins a drift, and unlike Mario Kart which starts this process with a tiny hop, KartRider: Drift starts with a handbrake turn. However, the challenge of drifting in KartRider: Drift has made it somewhat intriguing to get to grips with. The beauty of a series like Mario Kart is the simplicity in the execution of drifting and mastering the tracks. The ultimate decision would really be down to user preference, but the real difficulty curve is the drift mechanic, which is a little cumbersome to get the hang of. There are differing control schemes that utilise the face buttons for most of the action, or an alternative of using the triggers to accelerate and brake. Two weapons can be held at once and they can be interchanged just like in Mario Kart Double Dash, adding a little bit of strategy and items management. This weapon feels brilliant to execute, but annoying to be caught in. If caught in this blast radius, drivers will be caught in an electro-field bubble and be unable to move. Another interesting item is the Electro-bomb that can be thrown forward and catches multiple racers in its blast. The kart will fling itself forward, although the caveat is that, if overtaken, the polarity reverses and all of a sudden, the attached driver now gets the benefit. One of the most over powered items is in the form of a magnet, which can be aimed at any racer in front of the kart, ideally aiming for first place if they can be seen and attaching it to them. There are also defensive shields to block incoming attacks. Weapon boxes are also scattered on the track and contain offensive weapons such as bananas, missiles and brick walls. Races feature up to 8 characters over 3 laps duking it out for top spot. The game starts off with a rather simple tutorial before thrusting players into the deep end with some races which can be against AI opponents or online players (or a mix of both). That isn't to say that any aforementioned mascot racer is pumping out the mature vibes either, but KartRider: Drift certainly skews younger. The music, the character voices and animation feel incredibly focussed on aiming at the younger market. On first approach KartRider: Drift has the look, feel and sound of an entry level kart racer for 4- to 8-year-olds, and perhaps that is the target market.
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